Bella's Garden - Pansy

This is the first drawing of a series of images featuring Bella, the canine muse, as a flower fairy. This series is based on the Victorian Language of Flowers. Each time a flower will be depicted on a plate like that, displaying Bella, the flower's name and its meaning according to these floriographic almanacs. I will also include some Hana Kotoba specimens (the Japanese Language of Flowers) for its plethora of beautiful colours and romantic, ethereal flowers.

2016

The very first illustration for Bella's Garden is the Pansy, whose meaning, in the Victorian Language of Flowers is exactly this: "you are in my thoughts". the word "Pansy" relates to the French word "Pensée" ("thought").

Here I dressed Bella a like a Cicely Mary Barker's Flower Fairy, whose books really made a mark on my childhood and adolescence. The whole atmosphere of this artwork is a bit kitsch and very, very colourful. I designed the dress from several petals of pansies. Also added a layer of some pretty glittery stars (she is a fairy in the end!), enhanced her shiny eyes and created fancy sparkly shoes just for her. I ended it up by making the corners covered in stained glass pansies over a lateral frame of Art-Déco periwinkle tiles. The purple background is a mix of blended William Morris's patterns.